Blood, Sweat, and Steel
by Ironbird53
Summary: When the war against the Sirens continues, Azur Lane discovers the experimental Type B USS Fortress ship. But when they deploy it, they discover the ship is really a human boy! With an ongoing ethical debate over Fortress, can the Shipgirls teach him to be human?


**I had the idea for this story as I was thinking about Kancolle, funny how that happened.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Azur Lane.**

**The Azur Lane discovers an old project developed at the start of the Siren War. Project Fortress.**

**Project Fortress was powerful, capable of sheer annihilation with a single unit alone. Powered by a single Mental Cube, it is by far one of, if not the most powerful of all ships. However, due to time, ethics, results, and costs, the project was discontinued after only producing two Fortress Units.**

**They discover the current Project Fortress model, the Type B USS Fortress, is really a human boy! Capable of all sorts of annihilation missions, the Sea Fortress is the sent to Azur Lane's base for deployment!**

**Can the Ship girls teach him to be human?**

* * *

Javelin, Laffey, and Unicorn looked all over.

Unicorn almost went to tears, after once again misplacing U-Chan.

Currently, they were searching on a ridge overlooking the ocean.

Someone was waiting for them.

Instead of a ship like them, they found a massive metal bulge.

Twin mechanical arms, with two fingers and a thumb on each hand, each being the size of one of the taller ship girls, and an industrial backpack connecting the two of them. It was obvious someone was on the other side of the machine, as a pair of legs wearing sailor uniform pants could be seen standing underneath the machine.

"Excuse us? Can we ask you something?" Greeted Javelin.

The robust machine suddenly began to turn around to face them.

They saw what was on the other side, and were quite shocked.

It was a human boy. He had shaggy, brown hair, and a scar on his left cheek. He was shirtless, but his chest was covered by a large chestplate connected to the rigging. He had adorable, gleaming golden eyes, and a very innocent and cute face, with a strange set of headgear on the sides of his head. His stature was straight, with his human body being 5'11, his entire torso was obscured by the chestplate. His real arms were currently outstretched, the elbow-down being encased inside two massive gun batteries almost as tall as him. He had two mechanical under-arms built into the rack on his back, which stretched under his human arms.

In his underarms, he carried none other than U-Chan.

"U-Chan!" Said Unicorn, racing up to the boy.

The boy, not saying a word, held out U-Chan to Unicorn.

"Oh, thank you kindly!" Said Unicorn as she snatched up U-Chan, giving the stuffed animal a tight, squeezing hug.

"Thank you very much. I'm Javelin, that's Unicorn, and she's Laffey. Say, I've never seen you around, what's your name?" Javelin asked the boy.

The boy's mouth opened as if to speak, but quickly closed.

"Do you...Have a name?"

The boy closed his eyes and shook his head.

"How terrible! We ought to give you a name! Laffey, what do you think would be a good name?"

"Hm..." Laffey murmured, as she was on the verge of falling asleep.

"Come on!" Said Javelin, "This is no time to fall asleep, at least try a suggestion first!"

"...Mino." Yawned Laffey.

"Mino" perked up at the word, as if to accept it.

"You like it?" Inquired Javelin.

"Mino" nodded eagerly.

"Alright then," Said Javelin, "Mino it is!"

Mino nodded in agreement.

"Come," Offered Javelin, "Let's take you to meet everyone!"

Mino ran slowly, his massive backpack swinging from side to side as he jogged with the girls.

* * *

"Wales!" Called Cleveland.

"Yes Cleveland?"

"I just found the file you asked for, regarding that new ship that arrived last night?" Cleveland said, handing Wales a beige folder.

"Yes. The supposed 'Type B USS Fortress.'" Remembered Wales, as she took the file and sat down at the coffee table to read.

"What's that?" Inquired Cleveland.

"Essentially," Explained Wales, "Just over a decade ago, humans created 'Project Fortress' as an early attempt of Azur Lane to fight the Sirens. However, the project was cut short very early in development, due to the prototype being assumed utterly destroyed and its successor raising a very serious ethics debate. To top that, the project was also demanding, and very costly in both time and resources to produce a single unit. However, seeing as the war with the Sirens continues, the second Fortress Unit was reinstated, and brought here for deployment."

"What sort of ethics? Just asking."

"Well," Cryptically concluded Wales, "This is war, monsters are created by both intention and accident. It's still in debate what the Type USS Fortress counts as."

Wales closed the folder, and stood up.

"Enough chit-chat," She said, "Let's go see how our Fortress is doing. The Commander's requested to greet him, we should go find the new recruit quickly."

"I'd like to see what she's about!" Said Cleveland.

Wales smirked.

"You mean 'he.'"

"Huh?"

Cleveland stared.

"Now this," She said, a grin curling on her face, "This I gotta see."

"Careful," Cautioned Wales, as the two began to walk through the base, "If you get all sly and jump on him, you might startle the poor thing, and cause an accident or something."

"I'll be nice." Assured Cleveland.

_Several minutes later, on the beach..._

"Over here, Mino!" Called Javelin, throwing a volleyball to him.

Mino's large Over-Arm pulled back for a serve, and sent the ball quite high into the air with a single smack.

"Wow! That's so high up!"

"Catch it!"

The girls all scrambled to catch the ball before it hit the ground, but Mino had sent it so high up, it was nearly impossible for them to determine the ball's trajectory. The girls all scrambled around, trying to figure out where the ball would land.

The ball hit the water just beyond the shore with a large splash.

"Incredible!"

"Mino's so strong!"

"He's got six arms, of course he is!"

"I wonder how heavy that backpack of his is..."

"He must be so strong, to be moving around so much!"

"Does your backpack feel heavy, Mino?" Inquired Javelin.

Javelin then noticed that Mino had already stopped paying attention, and was playing with Unicorn. The two were taking turns splashing each other at the shoreline of the beach. The pair looked like young children.

Watching them gave Javelin a feeling of bliss.

Ark Royal was hyperventilating with euphoria as she watched from afar.

Each time Unicorn splashed Mino with all her might, she was winded by Mino's Over-Arms smashing her with a miniature tsunami in return. However, she still she to enjoy playing with Mino, despite Mino not knowing his own strength.

The two of them returned to the sandy beach, with Unicorn riding on Mino's massive mechanical shoulders, both still calming down from their rush of joy they'd gotten from playing around.

Wales and Cleveland were approaching.

"There it is, the Sea Fortress."

"Wow...Looks like some kinda robot, I thought you said it was a guy."

"You'll see," Smirked Wales, before calling over to the ship girls on the beach, "Excuse me!"

Everyone turned to look, including Mino, and Cleveland saw Mino's face.

"I thought you were kidding..." Said Cleveland, "But it's really a guy! A-A...Ship guy!"

Cleveland almost admitted that Mino looked adorable, but managed to recompose herself before she could say it.

"Well," Said Wales, "Come, let's give him a proper greeting."

The two approached Mino, as the other ship girls began to gather around Mino, wondering what Wales wanted to talk about.

"Good day to you," Said Wales.

Mino waved with his right under-arm.

"Wow..." awed Cleveland, who got close as she studied Mino's physical appearance.

What piqued her interest was Mino's apron.

"Where's your shirt? Aren't you cold?" Inquired Cleveland.

Mino shook his head in refusal.

"Wait. Can you even talk?"

Mino shook his head a bit slower, with understanding.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, didn't mean to..."

Mino twitched his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Do you have another name you'd prefer other than your Production Name?"

"We call him Mino." Piped up Javelin.

"'Mino,' hm?" Acknowledged Wales, "I see. Well, Mino, as much as I'd dislike to pull you away so suddenly, our Commander would like to give you a proper greeting, and requested you to be brought to him as soon as you've acclimated."

Mino nodded, and departed with Cleveland and Wales.

Mino stopped for a moment, so he could turn around and wave off his newfound friends with his left over-arm.

* * *

"I'm told you prefer being called 'Mino?'" Inquired the Commander.

Mino nodded.

"Well," Smirked the Commander, "That makes this so much easier! Felt kinda rude and stupid to keep calling you Fortress."

The Commander leaned back in his chair, quickly relaxing his imposing image.

"Commander," Whispered Wales, "Etiquette!"

"I know, I know." Whined the Commander.

The Commander turned back to Mino.

"So," Said the Commander, "As per orders, you are to be deployed from this Navel Base. During your time here, we will have to assess your capabilities for developmental purposes. You will also be key in experimenting and testing new equipment. To help you adjust to your new lifestyle, I'll assign Belfast to be your primary attendant, is that understood?"

Mino nodded in acknowledgement.

The Commander stood up from his desk, and walked over to Mino.

He held out his hand for a handshake.

"With that," The Commander smiled, "Welcome aboard."

Mino's under-arm took the Commander's hand for the handshake.

The Commander chuckled.

"Isn't it a little awkward to be lugging around your armaments at all times?"

Mino shrugged.

"Anyway," Urged the Commander, "You can go now. I'd recommend you take a tour around the base, so you can meet everyone and get directions so you won't get lost for very long."

Mino nodded, and departed.

The Commander went back to his desk to read through Mino's file.

"Prototype presumed dead...Second Unit put in reserve...Hard to believe this was done a decade ago."

A thought popped into the Commander's mind.

"Very interesting..."

* * *

"Look at him! He's so robust!"

"Why's he carrying around his armaments That must weigh a ton to be lugging all that!"

Everywhere Mino went, he was bombarded with questions and all sorts of attention.

Most of the younger and smaller ship girls began to use his body like playground equipment, jumping and climbing all over his armaments, brimming with unmatched curiosity directed at Mino.

He saw Shipgirls of all shapes and sizes, and all of them were in shock and awe as they saw him for the first time.

He had just reached the docks when he saw her.

A very mature ship girl. She had silver hair and a white sailor cap.

She stared out into the horizon.

Mino had never felt so intrigued by another living thing before.

Out of nowhere, the woman snapped around on her heel.

The surprise had quickly startled Mino, who panicked and jumped back out of shock.

"I've heard about you." Said the woman, "Everyone's been calling you Mino, correct? I'm Enterprise, it's good to have you on base, considering the severity of the Siren threat."

To Mino, this "Enterprise" was ultimate in cool and tough. She seemed so much better for some reason, and Mino didn't understand why. All he knew was that Enterprise was someone he couldn't afford to embarrass himself in front of.

Belfast, who was searching for Mino ever since she'd gotten word of the Commander's orders for her, had finally located the boy as he stared at Enterprise with the awe of a starstruck child.

"Excuse me, Enterprise." Greeted Belfast, "But I believe I need to get acquainted with my new charge."

"Don't let me stop you." Enterprise deadpanned without a second thought.

Belfast gave Mino a warm, tender smile.

"Hello there, Mino," Cooed Belfast, "I'm Belfast, and you'll be under my care at this base."

Mino nodded in acknowledgement.

"Come along then," Motioned Belfast, "I'll see you to your new quarters."

* * *

Belfast guided Mino to his new room.

It was mostly empty, with no real decoration. The most the room had was a desk, a bed, and drawers.

Mino never really had many personal belongings for his room, save one object he had kept for years. However, due to his earlier introduction to Enterprise, Mino felt it was best to keep his single belonging hidden for the time being.

"Hm," Said Belfast, as though she was disappointed, "I don't believe you ever had any personal items during your time in the reserves. So, that will save time trying to get you moved in. Either way, this does provide the perfect opportunity for you to learn about things like decorum and personality."

Mino nodded in acknowledgement.

"Come along," Said Belfast, "Let's show you the rest of the base."

Once again, Mino was the center of attention and curiosity in public.

Mino quickly discovered it was very hard to walk around with his rigging. Everywhere he went, he was extra cautious as he made sure he didn't bump anything or anyone, since he hadn't figured out how to disconnect from his rigging.

Belfast was quite intrigued by Mino.

Warships were typically named after women, and therefore they were given a feminine form. However, from what she was told, Mino was in truth a fully-fledged adolescent human boy, and not a Ship girl like everyone else.

Just what did Project Fortress do?

Who in their right mind would throw a human child into the fray of war?

Sure, he may have incredible firepower, but at his core he was a child.

He shouldn't even _have_ firepower.

But the background history behind whatever Project Fortress did to Mino was still classified. Not even the Commander had the full details, as essentially shared everything he knew to Belfast about Mino.

What concerned her was how little the Commander knew.

However, duty was duty, and her duty was to look after and care for Mino to help him acclimate to being brought into the war. Perhaps she'd eventually learn more about Mino as time went on, but Mino had only just arrived.

Belfast thought so deeply on the subject, she almost let Mino wander off.

"Please," Affirmed Belfast, "As much as there are many things to occupy your vision, do make sure not to run off. This place is quite big, and you've yet to find your way through any of it."

Mino nodded dejectedly.

"Sadly," Said Belfast, "There's been a lull in Siren activity, so there's most likely not much of an opportunity for you to act in live combat. But, I personally find such as a good thing, seeing as how we're able to recline and take time to enjoy life."

Mino had no idea what Belfast was talking about, but he assumed it was something.

What Belfast quickly noted about Mino was that he seemed...Infant-like. He was easily distracted, prone to wandering, and quite clearly didn't seem to understand much about what anyone talked about.

The maid internally admonished herself for not realizing such sooner. Mino wasn't like his supposed age group, or even like a Shipgirl for that matter. He had been completely remade into a WMD, meaning he may have no concept of entertainment or even domestic life.

She'd have to figure some way for Mino to adjust.

The pair stopped, and Belfast turned to look Mino in the eyes.

"Say," Inquired Belfast, "Why haven't you disconnected your rigging?"

Mino looked away, as though he were ashamed.

Belfast instantly figured out the answer to her own question.

Mino had no idea how to disengage his rigging!

The odd design of Mino's armaments must've severely drained him. His physical arms somehow had the stamina to hold up the Gun Batteries at all times, and his body somehow supported the weight of his Over-Arms. The maid couldn't help but feel that Mino was ready to collapse at any given moment.

She'd have to ask for a copy of the USS Fortress schematics when she had a chance.

The maid began to further study Mino. She quickly found that Mino's condition was far deeper than she thought. Mino's body may have been turned into a weapon, but his mind certainly wasn't.

It was quite strange. The more she thought she understood Mino, the more she realized she didn't.

To Belfast, Mino seemed like a childish version of Enterprise. Neither of them really seemed to know how to take care of themselves off the battlefield, and were very needy in such an aspect.

The maid took a look, and realized they were on the edge of the Royal Navy District of the Naval Base.

This specific Naval Base housed all the nations and factions of Aur Lane, and, as a result, was a very large base. Each faction had their own district within the base, and freely worked with each other like its own society.

Currently, Belfast and Mino were on their way to the Sakura Empire District.

Belfast had decided that the elegant and wonderful sights would amaze Mino and give him a sense of ease. And due to the pleasant sights and people, Mino would have an easier time all around.

She'd reluctantly take him to the Ironblood after, since she'd be able to use their workshops to manually remove Mino's armaments.

She wanted to avoid such a trip, as she didn't want to have a run-in with Prinz Eugen.

* * *

_In the Sakura Empire District..._

"_Ara ara_, what do we have here?" Cooed Akagi.

"Nee-Sama, what...Is this?" Kaga gawked, genuinely dumbstruck as she stared at Mino.

"This is Mino," Introduced Belfast, "He's our newest ship. However, he's quite new, so he's a tad bit shy and unable to talk, so do be on your best behavior."

"I wouldn't dream of harming so much as a single hair on this dear thing's head!" Declared Akagi, rubbing Mino's head.

Akagi was quite pretty. She had a lovely look on her face, tender and loving. As she pat Mino's head, her numerous tails would shake, like that of an overjoyed dog. She seemed like a temptress, but so loving and kind.

Mino took one look at Kaga's face, and became nervous.

Her eyes were so attentive and sharp, like that of a sadist. She looked angry for some reason, and Mino didn't understand why. Mino only took a fleeting glance at Kaga's face, and thought that it automatically twisted in anger as he laid eyes on her.

Mino looked away immediately.

Kaga noticed, and became flabbergasted.

"W-What! What's wrong?"

"D'aw~!" Akagi teased, "You've scared the poor thing, Kaga!"

"But-! I-I didn't mean to-!"

"You'll forgive her, won't you Mino?" Akagi cooed.

Mino nodded like a nervous child.

"There's a good boy!"

Belfast was growing quite irritated as she watched Akagi pamper Mino.

"If you'll excuse me," Belfast said firmly, her eyes closed and an innocent smile on her face, "I'll give Mino a tour around the _rest_ of the District."

"Leaving so soon?" Scoffed Akagi, "I haven't finished playing yet..."

It was then that Mino noticed both Belfast and Akagi had similar expressions on their faces, closed eyes and warm smiles. And yet, there was a suddenly dark aura from the both of them, gravitated by a strange tension Mino had never felt before.

Mino quickly learned that such a face was one he needed to watch out for.

For some reason, Mino felt heavy. The weight of his rigging and his own body seemed to suddenly increase exponentially. It was unnatural for Mino, as the posture he had for years suddenly seemed to make him feel he was on the verge of collapse.

Mino, with no-one watching, suddenly fell on his rear, and made a very loud crack as his rigging hit the street.

"Nee-Sama! Look!" Kaga pointed out, quickly coming to Mino's side.

"Oh my!" Belfast cried, quickly assisting Kaga in Mino's aid.

"Deary me," Said Akagi, joining the other two, "The poor thing...Where does it hurt? Akagi-Nee is here to make all the pain go away, and replace it with love~!"

Belfast looked behind Mino, realizing he hit the ground hard enough to smash a serious pothole right into the pavement. A quick check revealed Mino's rigging looked untouched, despite the massive hole in the road.

"My word..." Belfast muttered.

Mino would've gotten himself up, but his rigging felt way too heavy to move in. But why now, of all times, would Mino collapse under his own weight? It was the first time since his 10-year life that such had happened.

"Poor thing," Said Akagi, "This horrible rigging's got you all ensnared! Akagi-Nee will break it all off and make you a free, lovely boy~!"

Belfast quickly shut her down.

"_Actually_," She intervened, "I was going to bring him to the Iron Blood District later to see about that. You shouldn't trouble yourself with the matter that doesn't concern you."

"_Ara_? And why is that? Am I not allowed to feel concerned for a tender little boy?"

Belfast and Akagi locked their scary faces once more.

"Wait, Nee-Sama!" Said Kaga, "It was around this sort of moment Mino fell down!"

"Oh! You're right!" Akagi said, quickly turning back to Mino to shower him with affection yet again.

"Akagi-Nee will play nice~!" Akagi cooed as she pampered Mino.

Belfast finally managed to separate the two.

"Now," She growled, "If you'll excuse us, we best be on our way."

Belfast escorted Mino away.

Akagi pouted in defeat. Kaga did her best to console her sister.

Belfast didn't touch up on the subject, even after she was out of earshot of Akagi. When Belfast didn't notice, Mino stared at her with great confusion. The Fortress had little interaction with any living thing, and had get trouble picking up on hints on cues.

It really didn't matter to Mino, as he was easily distracted by his surroundings in mere seconds.

* * *

Belfast was on her guard as they set foot into the Ironblood District.

It wasn't that everyone was hostile; The people there were in reality quite friendly, save one.

Prinz Eugen.

Belfast and Prinz Eugen weren't exactly eye-to-eye on everything, and usually ended up getting on each other's nerves with their conflicting views. Prinz Eugen irritated Belfast to no end with her lusty behavior around the Commander, and Belfast annoyed Prinz Eugen with her etiquette.

Either way, they drove each other insane.

The Cruiser was uneasy, and began to theorize just how Prinz Eugen would react to Mino. Due to Mino's childlike mindset, Prince Eugen would most likely terrorize Mino relentlessly with her lustful advances.

However, if they avoided Prinz Eugen, Belfast could see to Mino's rigging being deactivated for his convenience.

Whenever Mino had gotten distracted, Belfast would always take a quick glance at Mino's rigging to see if there was any sort of exterior mechanisms she could use instead of going so far to get the rigging off. However, she really couldn't find such on the exterior plating of the Fortress Rigging.

Perhaps Mino exclusively had control over everything?

"Mino," She explained, "Please keep up. I'm taking you to a workshop to get you looked at. Your collapsing earlier is a sign we should get the rigging off as soon as we can, so hurry along."

Mino quickly shuffled to her side.

Belfast let out a small giggle. Mino was quite like an obedient little boy.

"Well, well, well..." An all-too-familiar voice called behind the pair, "What do we have here?"

Belfast growled silently as she turned slowly to face the music.

Prinz Eugen was eyeing up Mino with the same sensual face she'd used when eyeing the Commander.

"Belfast," Teased Prinz Eugen, "You're quite greedy, hogging such a cute little boy all to yourself, parading him around the base like you've won a trophy. Shouldn't you be all lovey-dovey with Enterprise right now?"

"This is Mino," Belfast forced out, doing her best to keep her composure, "He's the acclaimed USS Fortress that arrived last night. The Commander himself has appointed him as my charge. I'm giving him a tour of the base, so if you don't mind, we should be moving along."

"You can afford to let me watch him for a bit, no? I'll take extra-good care of him~!"

"Sorry," Affirmed Belfast, "But I believe you might be a bad influence on Mino, I find it best if you _don't_ do anything with him."

"Why-?!"

Belfast realized Mino had already stopped paying attention, and wandered away. Prinz Eugen looked around, and quickly realized that, in their squabble, Mino had lost interest and vanished from right under their noses.

Belfast began to panic. If Mino disappeared under her watch, any number of things would happen, and none of them ending pleasantly.

"Mino?" Called Belfast.

Prinz Eugen giggled.

"Is there something you find humorous?" Snarled Belfast.

"_Vielleicht_." Taunted Prinz Eugen.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go find Mino."

"Then why don't me try to bury the hatchet? Let's play a game: The first to find 'Mino' will get to keep him."

Not waiting for Belfast's retort, Prinz Eugen spawned her rigging, and leapt to the rooftops. Belfast knew she now had no other choice but to play Prinz Eugen's game and win fair and square if she was going to resolve this peacefully.

But where could Mino have gone in such a short time?

Mino had no idea where he even was.

The reason he vanished was because he saw something sparkly, and wanted to see what. However, one sparkly object led to another, and Mino had wandered without even looking at his surroundings.

Belfast was nowhere to be seen.

Mino was growing nervous, what should he do? Wait patiently for Belfast to find him? Search for Belfast instead? Run about until he found someone who could help? He'd never been lost before, so what to do?

"What are you doing here, child?" A calm, soothing voice said from behind.

Mino turned around to find Friedrich der Grosse standing before him.

"A little boy? With rigging of a ship? Interesting." Friedrich muttered as she studied Mino's features.

Mino gave her a distressed look in the hopes she would understand.

"Are you lost, child?"

Mino nodded, a look of shame on his face.

"You can stay with me until you find your way."

Mino perked up.

"Perhaps a song may sooth your despair?"

Mino looked confused.

"We'll head somewhere with more ships," Said Friedrich, "Someone may look for you there."

Mino did his best not to get distracted by anything else as he followed closely behind Friedrich. Friedrich could feel the Fortress's nervousness as he stayed close to Friedrich's side, making sure she never left his sights.

"If you are scared of losing me," Offered Friedrich, "You may hold my hand. That way, You can relax knowing I'll never vanish, even if you don't see me."

Friedrich offered her hand, and Mino held it gently with his left Under-Arm.

"Six arms?" Observed Friedrich, "Interesting."

Friedrich guided Mino to a plaza nearby. There was a much higher chance of Mino being able to get his bearings a lot quicker if he was in a bigger open area. When the two arrived, Mino was showered with affection and concern as Shipgirls paid attention to him.

Mino began to reflect on his actions.

Belfast and Prinz Eugen raced furiously against each other, trying to gain sight of Mino before the other did.

It was then they both noticed an amassing crowd at a plaza up ahead.

Both raced quickly through the crowd...

...Only to find Mino, on the verge of tears as Shipgirls did their best to console and comfort Mino.

"Mino!" Called Belfast, racing up quickly.

Mino heard Belfast's call, and was overjoyed when she came racing up to him.

Prinz Eugen was too slow, and quickly stopped in her tracks before she embarrassed herself.

"You win this time..." She muttered under her breath.

Belfast ran up to Mino, and tightly wrapped her arms around the Fortress as best as she could. Mino was dumbfounded, as Belfast's chest went right into his face, and he was unable to understand what was going on. The lower half of his face was enveloped in a soft, bouncy bosom.

"I'm so sorry," Apologized Belfast, "I should've paid more attention to you, it's all my fault."

Mino's eyes looked up from Belfast's cleavage to see Belfast almost going to tears as she reflected on her failure.

Today was a very bizarre day for Mino.

After all, it was the very first time he was in the outside world.

* * *

_That Night..._

Belfast took the utmost care as she escorted Mino back to his room, not wanting a repeat of the mishap earlier.

Mino was confused, however.

Did Belfast think that Mino getting lost was her fault?

Mino was the one to blame. If he hadn't wandered off, Belfast wouldn't be berating herself. This, in turn, made a much bigger fault on Mino for making an even bigger problem because he saw something shiny.

However, as they returned to the Dorm, Belfast seemed to calm down from her profuse self-destruction.

Belfast, on the other hand, had a problem.

She wanted to tuck Mino into bed. But Mino couldn't take off his rigging, which meant if he were to sit on the bed, the sheer weight of the rigging would crush the bed right under Mino.

There was also a matter of getting Mino through the door.

His Over-Arms made him far too wide to fit normally through a single door. Mino had only looked from the doorway what his room looked like earlier, he didn't actually set foot inside the room itself.

Mino yawned, and looked ready to keel over at any moment.

Belfast then had an idea.

"Mino," She said, "See if you can move sideways through the door."

Mino, half-asleep, turned, and began to shuffle through the doorway sideways. His backpack and chestplate bumped against the sides of the door frame as Mino lazily made his way into the room.

Thankfully, the room was big enough for Mino to move around in.

Belfast entered right behind, and began to think on how she was going to put Mino into bed without destroying said bed.

The Cruiser then got another idea.

"Mino, move to this side, please."

Mino did so, and Belfast saw that she had to act quickly. Mino's eyes were blinking slowly and frequently. At most she'd have a full minute to prepare Mino's bed before he keeled over and damaged something with his rigging.

But she couldn't call herself a maid if she couldn't deal with such pressure.

In the blink of an eye, Belfast pulled the mattress, bed-sheets, pillow, and covers off the frame, set the frame upside the wall, and laid the mattress on the floor, making the bed before the covers fell on the mattress. By the time she was done, she created an improvised futon.

"There we go, you may lay here." Presented Belfast.

Mino stared at the futon, as though such was foreign to him.

"Come on then, you must be worn and weary all over, lay down." Belfast cooed, doing her best to try and get Mino to sleep on the makeshift futon.

There was no doubt in Belfast's mind.

First thing tomorrow, she'd go to the Commander and get as much information regarding Mino as she could.

Mino slowly began to lay down on the mattress, stuck in a semi-sitting position due to his rigging being between him and the mattress. Belfast improvised by taking the pillow, and wedging it behind Mino's head and his backpack. She took the covers, and draped them over Mino's body as she watched him drift off to sleep.

Mino was visibly trying to stay awake, and fighting an uphill battle to do so.

Belfast smiled.

"Ssh..." She cooed, "You don't have to struggle so. Just let the soft, lovely pillow take you to sleep..."

Mino fought. He struggled greatly to keep awake. But in the end, Belfast's soft, tender voice simply won him over.

Mino eased into sleep, and was out like a nightlight.

Belfast sighed in relief.

She quietly left the room, and made sure to turn off the lights and silently close the door as she exited.

The maid had many charges before...

...But Mino was certainly one she'd enjoy to most.

* * *

**A/N: I feel like I could've written this a lot better, but I hope it's good enough for a chapter 1! Hope you all enjoy! Mino's adventures have only just begun, and there's a lot more in store.**

**I'll give a brief profile of Mino's background and specs!**

**The Type B USS Fortress, nicknamed "Mino" by other ships, is an experimental weapon of mass destruction. Biologically an 18-year old human boy, his true identity is unknown.**

**Unlike Shipgirls, the Fortress rigging utilizes a single Mental Cube, which serves as the power source and control mechanism that links Mino and the Fortress Rigging. ****However, due to the Fortress Rigging being simple hardware, compared to the Shipgirl equipment, it must be manually removed from Mino's physical body.**

**Sub-functions found in the Fortress Rigging include a Manual Release Switch, Self-destruct mechanism, "Combat Mode" Visor, Heater, and Submersible equipment.**

**The Fortress Rigging consists of Eagle Union armaments, which narrows down Mino's place of origin to the United States.**

**The Rigging consists of twin Gun Batteries, held by Mino's human arms, twin industrial-sized "Over-Arms" for close-quarters combat, and twin "Under-Arms" used for normal functions, such as handshakes and waving, the Gun Batteries, Over-Arms, and Under-Arms are connected by an armored backpack, which houses the Mental Cube and a small storage space.**

**The Gun Batteries have 4 Twin 127mm cannons each. The Over-Arms each have a Twin 20mm AA Oerlikon and Triple 152mm cannon. The Backpack features a built-in SG Radar and concealed 76mm AA Gun.**

**The Tybe B USS Fortress, after the destruction of the Type A USS Fortress, was remodeled to ensure maximum devastation of the enemy with widespread annihilation, capable of defending from almost all attacks.**

**Hope you all enjoy!**

**Leave a review, they're much appreciated and show that you care!**


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